Northwood is looking at a possible ordinance that would require pawn shop owners to use an online service that would show whether or an item was stolen or not.

Residents can currently input information, such as the color, make, model and serial numbers of valuable property, into an online database called “Leads Online” at www.leadsonline.com. It makes it easier for police to track down stolen items more quickly.

“We know a lot of stuff surfaces at pawn shops and people didn’t have their property recorded,” said Northwood Police Chief Thomas Cairl. “With Leads Online, residents can go to this webpage and give detailed information on their property so that if it is ever stolen, the information will show it is their property. It’s a tool that has been used in police departments. This is the second year that we’ve had it.”

The wife of Better Business Bureau President Richard T. Eppstein is Chinese, so every year he finds himself taking part in the Chinese New Year celebration, just like he did last week.

So, when Eppstein spoke to 40 guests at a breakfast hosted by the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce and Ottawa County Improvement Corporation, he told them, “You’re the monkey.”

For the Chinese, this is the Year of the Monkey, and he wasn’t exactly calling business owners “monkeys,” but he could have. As usual, he had plenty of stories about business owners who made “monkeys of themselves” when they were cheated by scammers.

Mallory Rinckey, a masters of public health student at the University of Toledo, and Dr. Amy Thompson, professor of Public Health at the University of Toledo, urged Oregon City Council on Monday to support increasing the age to buy tobacco to 21 from 18.

“This is an issue that impacts our community’s health, life expectancy and health care costs,” said Rinckey. Tobacco use, she said, is the leading cause of preventable death.

“In the US, tobacco kills more than 480,000 people per year. This is more than alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.”

A public forum to discuss the results of an audit of the Woodmore School District is scheduled for Feb. 17 at the PreK-8 school.

The forum is set to start at 6 p.m.

The audit covers Fiscal Year 2014-15 and includes 12 findings but no finding for recovery of missing money, Cara Brown, who chairs the school board’s finance committee, reported Tuesday during the board’s meeting.

Brown presented an extensive report of the district’s financial condition. From July 2015 through January 2016, general fund expenditures are about $71,500 lower than during the same seven-month period last year: $5.48 million to $5.41 million. In all, general fund expenditures reached approximately $9.6 million during 2014-15. Expenditures in 2015-16 are projected to be about $10.1 million and revenues of $10.5 million are anticipated.